Summer Recap: Independence Day

I can't believe how fast this summer has gone. I guess I'll just have to recap some of the fun adventures we've had.

For Independence Day, we traveled to eastern Washington to Grandpa's house and went to a bump to pass race in Waterton. Before the race began the girls rocked out to the music:

The cars raced and crashed with abandon:After the race, they had a fireworks show. It was amazing!

The next day at Grandpa's house, Nate worked really hard on a new tractor that Grandpa got for him:

And drove it madly around the house (just like the racers!):All three kids really enjoyed playing on the swing:

Nate and Nicole really played in the mud:

And Miss Amanda made a great show of playing in the mud for the camera. As you can see, she does not sit down to play in the mud, and washed her hands as soon as the picture had been taken. Princesses DO NOT get dirty!

The kids had three baths / showers a day while we were there - and they LOVED every moment of it. They picked raspberries and blueberries, rode bikes, and just generally had a blast. What a wonderful start to summer!

Wordless Wednesday...

Weekly "Friend" Adventures - Week One

Yesterday was our very first weekly "Friend" adventure. We decided to make the trek to Monroe to tour the Reptile Zoo there. We saw snakes, lizards, alligators, iguanas, turtles, spiders, and Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches. The biggest attraction for our kids was the two headed turtle:

This huge turtle was amazing too:

The girls took turns holding the snake: Just to prove that we visited the zoo:

Afterwards, we had a picnic lunch at a local park:

Our summertime adventures are so much fun!

Our First Summertime Adventure...

Last weekend John and his dad arranged for us to camp at Chatter Creek Campground by Leavenworth. The only catch was that the road to the campground had been closed a few years ago because the road was washed out. We decided to take our bikes into the campground, carrying all of our camping gear and food in our backpacks. We got there late in the afternoon. Amanda was so excited about the hike (have I told you that she loves to watch "America's Next Top Model" ? This is her "Fierce" look:
Nate had to carry the most gear of all the kids because he brought in food for the Boy Scouts who joined us later:
Nicole helped pitch our tent (and yes, it is hot pink!):
Amanda helped Grandpa pitch his tent. Notice how she's in a skirt - that's our princess:) :

First thing the following morning (at 6:30 am) we woke up to Nate and his crew "moving out" to the Boy Scout campsite:

While we were camping, we played games:

We went fishing:

And made s'mores. I'll add more to another post because I don't want to lose everything.

Hawaii - Day 11 (our last full day on the island)...

We had another amazing day! We finished up some last minute shopping for souveniers and then met Euvah, Steve, and my Aunt Jacque and Uncle Van at the City of Refuge. We had a cookout at the beach close to the City of Refuge (Uncle Van cooked some yummy steaks) and explored the wonderful tide pools in the lava on the beach. After our cookout, Euvah, Steve, and our family continued on to tour the City of Refuge and explore more of the area. It was amazing! We got lots of wonderful photos and learned a lot about the Hawaiian culture. What a wonderful ending to our trip:)

Hawaii Day 10

On Monday, June 7th, we went back out to the Waikoloa Resort Hotel and spent the day bouncing between their awesome pools. We also had lunch in Grandma's room overlooking the water and golf course. John and I really needed the time relaxing by the pool to recuperate from the rest of our Hawaii trip. The kids stayed busy for hours, going down the waterslide, playing in the sand, and jumping and swimming in the pools. We gathered the kids up late in the afternoon, and made our way back to the house for a restful night.

Hawaii - Day 10

We woke up bright and early and headed out the door on our first kayaking adventure ever! Aunt Euvah and Uncle Steve joined us on our adventure, as we rented three kayaks (one 3-person kayak and two 2-person kayaks) and paddled across a bay (about a mile) to the Captain Cook Monument in Kealakekua Bay. We had a picnic near the monument, and then went snorkeling for most of the day. We saw so many amazing fish, and were even able to capture them on film thanks to my sister Euvah's underwater camera. We went home exhausted after such a wonderful day and so glad that we went on this adventure together:)